5 Ways To Protect Your Pets While Traveling [Foolproof Tips]

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As the pet parents of two bundles of fur, we know how important they are to our daily lives.

Your pets enrich your life by bringing a smile to your face when you see them to making you feel calmer once they’re not around.

When it comes to traveling with your furbabies, though, as with any other type of journey, there are some things that you should keep in mind if you want them to be happy and well taken care of while you’re gone.

Here are five ways you can make sure that your pets have everything they need while you’re away from home:

Traveling Tails: Safeguard Your Furry Friends on the Go With These 5 Tips

1. Make Sure Your Pets Have Their Toys and Activities

If your pet is like most people’s pets, they’re likely to get bored and lonely if you leave them at home while you’re away. What’s more, they’re more likely to develop separation anxiety if you leave them alone.

So it’s better to take them with you on your trip. If you can’t, ensure they have plenty of toys to keep them busy when you aren’t around. Dogs love toys that keep them active, enriched, and stimulated. [1]

Conversely, cats are curious creatures and can keep busy with yarn balls and boxes filled with paper shreds.

2. Feed Your Pet Well Before You Go on Your Trip

When you’re traveling, there are certain things that you’ll have to do while you’re away. One of those things is ensuring your pet has plenty of food and water.

Make sure to stock up on food for the whole trip, and brush your teeth and nails before you go. If you have someone caring for your pet, let your pet’s caretaker know where you are going, when you’ll be back, and what to do in an emergency.

As a precaution, you may want to purchase multi-pet insurance if something goes wrong while away. [2]

3. Keep A “To Do” List For When You Get Home

When you come home from your trip, you’ll have no idea what your pet has been up to or how it’s doing. Make a to-do list before you leave to ensure they’re okay.

Even if it feels a bit silly, it’s important to remember that your pet will suffer from separation anxiety while you’re away.

A to-do list helps you stay on top of things, keeps you from forgetting something important, and, most importantly, keeps you from forgetting that your pet needs your attention.

This could be anything from playing an extra hour to rewarding your pet with a nice treat upon return. 

Check out my guides on travel cage for sugar gliders,” can guinea pigs travel in cars” and “Can chinchillas travel on planes” to ensure a stress-free journey for your furry friends.

4. Bring Their Favorite Things With You (Or At Least Something Dry)

Are your pets gutsy enough to make it through a trip in a vehicle? If not, ensure they have something to do while you’re on the road.

If you have a dog, bring a toy or two that it likes. If you have a cat, it might love climbing into a travel bag or suitcase and snoozing in the corner.

Besides, cats are curious creatures and might be unable to resist sniffing out everything in your car. If this is the case, try to keep them away from any potential danger in the vehicle by using cat carriers, crates, or boxes during your road trip adventure.

If you don’t like using travel crates, you can drive with your cat to familiarise them with the vehicle and its smells before your road trip. 

5. Don’t Forget the Basics

When you’re packing for a road trip, you’ll want to make sure to include the basics. If your pet is a dog, ensure they have plenty of food and water, a collar and leash, and a bed or a crate.

If your pet is a cat, ensure they have food, litter boxes, a litter box, food, and water. While packing the basics, don’t forget to include an extra towel and some plastic bags to transport their waste once you’ve reached your destination.

If you forget something as basic as a litter box, your pet might get sick during the trip or relieve itself in your car. 

Wrapping Up: So Now You Know

Traveling with your pet can be a lot of fun, but it’s important to remember a few things if you want them to be comfortable and safe.

Ensure your pets have plenty of toys to keep them busy and lots of food to keep them healthy. When you travel, feed your pets well before you go, and ensure they have something to do while you’re on the road. Make sure you bring their favorite things with you and pack the basics.

Finally, don’t forget to pack an extra towel and some plastic bags for when you reach your destination. If you take these steps, your pets should have a great time while traveling.

Resources

1. Pet Travel Toys: Road Trip Edition [Internet]. TripsWithPets.com. 2011 [cited 2023 May 8]. Available from: https://www.tripswithpets.com/twp-blog/pet-travel-toys-road-trip-edition

2. Multi-Pet Insurance with Flexible Cover | Petsure [Internet]. PETSURE.COM. [cited 2023 May 8]. Available from: https://www.petsure.com/multi-pet-insurance

Alina Hartley

Alina Hartley is a small-town girl with a ginormous love of bearded dragons. It all started with Winchester, a baby bearded who was abandoned at the shelter by his former owners because of a birth defect that caused one front leg to be shorter than the other. Alina originally went to the shelter looking for a guinea pig, but one look at Winchester and it was love at first sight. From that day on, Alina has dedicated her life to learning everything she can about bearded dragons. She loves helping new beardie parents start their incredible journey with these magnificent reptiles.
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